My solar set a new record yesterday

[LFP57]

Interesting news story out of Florida regarding a minimum bill adjustment for solar customers, wouldn't be surprised if this spreads across the country and to all utilities.

 

[oosik]

orezok - good news regarding your solar array. I have one question. How often do you have to brush/hose/remove the dust off the array. Around here I could clean the windows on my pickup every day if I chose to keep them spotless. Wash/wax the Taco Wagon today - thin layer of dust completly covers the pickup tomorrow. The gentle breezes are always carrying dust and volcanic ash. Just a fact of life around here.

 

[oosik]

LFP57 - I've had electric service here for 40+ years. There has ALWAYS been a "service charge" attached to my electric bill. I'm 0% solar. Over the years it has gone from $18 to, now, $25.

 

[LFP57]

LFP57 - I've had electric service here for 40+ years. There has ALWAYS been a "service charge" attached to my electric bill. I'm 0% solar. Over the years it has gone from $18 to, now, $25.

LFP57 - I've had electric service here for 40+ years. There has ALWAYS been a "service charge" attached to my electric bill. I'm 0% solar. Over the years it has gone from $18 to, no

LFP57 - I've had electric service here for 40+ years. There has ALWAYS been a "service charge" attached to my electric bill. I'm 0% solar. Over the years it has gone from $18 to, now, $25.

Did you watch the video, this is a new fee.

 

[ultrarunner]

Yep… can’t let a good thing be too much of a good thing.

PGE has shifted its peak charge time and now ends at 9 pm which helps the bottom line as much of the year no solar at 9 pm

 

[orezok]

orezok - good news regarding your solar array. I have one question. How often do you have to brush/hose/remove the dust off the array. Around here I could clean the windows on my pickup every day if I chose to keep them spotless. Wash/wax the Taco Wagon today - thin layer of dust completly covers the pickup tomorrow. The gentle breezes are always carrying dust and volcanic ash. Just a fact of life around here.

I hose off the panels about once a month. I have an existing hose Bibb right at the panels. It takes only a minute or 2 and costs a couple of cents in water.

More typical are our mud storms. A light drizzle during a dust storm. . Because of 11,000’ mountains to the west of me, we can have a cloudless day but the wind blows rain from miles away from the mountain while kicking up the dust.

 

[orezok]

Yep… can’t let a good thing be too much of a good thing.

PGE has shifted its peak charge time and now ends at 9 pm which helps the bottom line as much of the year no solar at 9 pm

I’m in SCE and we have a choice of 2 TOU plans. I’m in the 5-8 plan.
View attachment 747557View attachment 747558

 

[orezok]

I’m in SCE and we have 2 choices for TOU. I’m on the 5-8 plan.

 

[lman]

If you live in MA it is free. My brother installed a panel system on his roof for $30K. Feds gave him back 30% that year so cost was reduced to $21K. MA pays him $2,100 a year for 10 years which is $21K which equals free. And he pays nothing for his electricity so that saves him $1800 a year, so after the first ten years, his $30K investment completely pays for itself and yields $18K return. So technically solar is not free. It yields a significant profit. I would have done the same but CT is not nearly as generous with solar.

That's not free. The cost is being transferred by taxes to other citizens who may not be able to afford the initial cost of the system.

 

[hube2]

I have a 9.8KW system that produces about 90% of my needs. It was supposed to be bigger by the zoning at the time was 10KW max. I could have fought it but if I did it would have cost me more. It went live in Dec 2017. If I had fought it that would have meant not going live until 2018 and the tax incentive would have been 1/2 what it was. it cost me nearly $40K (installed by a solar company) and I got almost $20K of that back on state and federal my taxes over the next 3 years. Putting it in before the tax law change saved me almost $10K, much more than I would have saved in 20 years if I had fought the town over 1KW. 1 year later the town changed the zoning to 15KW max (buttholes).

And yes, the money I got back was paid by the taxes of others, so I thank you all, but you do what you gotta do. My system is part of my retirement plan